A pensioner is today behind bars for helping her son push cocaine in York, after police busted a major drug-dealing gang.
Doreen Fox, 75, of Peter Hill Drive, York, was jailed for seven months for her part in the operation at York Crown Court today (Wednesday).
Her son Michael Fox, 40, of the same address, was jailed for four years, four months. And his former girlfriend Sophie Glasby, 29, of Field Lane, Clifton, was sent to prison for ten months.
These three were identified as suspects in 2021 after police started investigating two other York men, Brett Lill and Ciaran Angell, suspected of drug dealing in the city. They received cocaine from courier Joshua Davenport, from Lancashire, who sourced it from his supplier in Bury.
Lill and Angell arranged drop-offs with their “trusted dealer” Michael Fox at the car park of B&Q on Hull Road in York and other locations. He then sold it on the streets.
On 11 June 2021, Davenport drove into York where he met up with Lill and Angell. Police then intercepted Lill and Angell’s vehicle.
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Angell was arrested in the vehicle. Lill attempted to run away but was quickly detained. He threw a package into the undergrowth which was soon located by police dog Miki, and later found to contain cocaine.
A search at Lill’s home discovered cash, expensive watches and a drugs press in the shed.
Officers searching an address associated with Michael Fox found a set of scales, plastic snap bags, a quantity of white powder and a number of mobile phones.
A further search was then carried out at the home of Michael Fox’s mother Doreen, which revealed sachets of cocaine kept in a cup in the kitchen and £4,800 of cash.
Mum was helping
Following interviews and continued investigation, police discovered that Doreen Fox was assisting her son in managing the profits of his drug dealing for Angell and Lill.
She pleaded guilty to money laundering, while Michael Fox admitted supplying cocaine.
During the raids, Sophie Glasby was arrested alongside her then boyfriend Michael Fox. She told police cocaine found on the property was for her own personal use. She pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.
Today’s hearing followed the sentencing of the other three gang members for supplying cocaine at York Crown Court on 29 October 2021:
- Brett Lill, 50, of Flaxman Avenue, York – jailed for seven years four months
- Ciaran Angell, 28, of The Croft, Strensall – seven years six months
- Joshua Davenport, 27, of Grange Avenue, Rossendale, Lancashire – three years eight months.
‘People rob old ladies’
Jailing Michael Fox today, Recorder of York Judge Sean Morris told him: “You were a trusted dealer and runner for a larger organisation.
“Bringing this filth into York and pushing it around the streets so that teenagers – and younger sometimes – become addicted.
“It’s a scourge on society. And people rob old ladies, like your mother, in order to pay people like you.”
Turning to Fox’s mother, Judge Morris said Doreen Fox had admitted to knowing her son was dealing drugs. She told the author of a pre-sentence report “that you appreciated the devastating effects of drugs upon others, because you knew people in the local area had killed themselves or died from taking drugs.
“It didn’t stop you from storing the money. Who knows if any of those people that you are aware of had taken drugs from your son?
“That’s what this trade is all about – greed and misery.”
And the judge said to Sophie Glasby: “The pre-sentence report says that there isn’t much sign of remorse – other than for yourself of course.
“And you tried to cover for the defendant, the main man, your partner, when the police raided your house.”
Police response
After today’s sentencing, North Yorkshire Police Detective Constable Bev Hoban said: “This investigation has led to the conviction of an organised crime group who supplied cocaine into the communities of York and profited from doing so.
“The sentences will hopefully be a deterrent to others involved in drug dealing on the streets of York and North Yorkshire.
“Lill and Angell had been living a lifestyle beyond their means for a long time. They set up and operated businesses in York which we suspected had been financed through criminal gains from their drug dealing.
“We believe they used Michael Fox to deal on their behalf to keep themselves distanced from the street level supply, but still reap the financial rewards.”